Ivxtaposed

"I was thinking of very old times, when the Romans first came here, nineteen hundred years ago--the other day....Light came out of this river since--you say Knights? Yes; but it is like a running blaze on a plain, like a flash of lightning in the clouds. We live in the flicker--may it last long as the old earth keeps rolling!"

When I first read Marlow’s reference to the Romans, my view of the book instantly changed. It was like upping the contrast and sharpening the value of a picture on the computer; I could look at the rest of the book in a different, clearer way—at least clearer for me.

I studied Latin all through high school, and along with the language came the culture and august legacy of the Roman Empire. When I saw just the word Romans, inevitable associations and images came to mind. A mighty conglomeration of conquered lands, a plethora of wealth, a pervading lust for life... And inevitably those images became juxtaposed with the images the novella in my hands gave me. Even with that minute shout-out to the ancient empire, Conrad had to have had a reason to mention the Romans in the first place, in a text clearly writing against European colonialism in Africa.

There are indeed parallels I see between the Romans’ conquering of land and the Europeans’ own “conquering” of Africa. The European enslavement of the Africans, for example, is comparable to the Roman enslavement of vanquished nations. I began to see the African “criminals” as prisoners of war, a war of confusion, made from European greed and African fear of the lightning-wielding white men. Subjugated to harsh labor and harsher working conditions, they brought (under the circumstances) as much wealth and satisfaction to their white superiors as they could, in the form of a trickle of ivory.

And yes, despite the toil and wild, genuine emotions Marlow saw in the natives, Marlow did nothing to lessen or stop their maltreatment. The Europeans obviously did nothing either; but in their ignorance, they did not see as Marlow did, so long as they were spared any bodily harm and got the treasure they wanted—ivory. The Europeans in that regard reminded me again of the Romans; so long as the spoils kept sailing back to Rome, the plebeians were satisfied, and the slaves knew and remained in their place, there was not a care in the world for a Roman.

A British reader from the time period Heart of Darkness was written would probably catch the Roman reference as well, since the Romans had no small influence in history. History, however, had not takeninto account Europe’s ventures into Africa, and thus had not yet been shelved with the past for future generations to compare. A British reader would probably think highly and maybe even proudly compare Europe’s “expedition” with the ancient empire. I, a modern American reader, can see the flaws and comparisons between the Romans’ and Europeans’ excursions, and thus not be outraged like a British, 20^th century reader, but enlightened by one man’s perspective on a controversial institution.